Con men
: attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of }} You cant judge how believable someone is by how much they themselves sincerely believe what they are saying. Con men have the ability to make themselves believe something even if they know it to be false. Con men use this ability to swindle naive people who dont realize that such a thing is even possible. A confidence trick (synonyms include con, confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam, and stratagem) is an attempt to a person or group after first gaining their , used in the classical sense of . Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as , , , , , and . Researchers Lindsey Huang and Barak Orbach defined the scheme as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men') at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his wallet. A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game) is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members. Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game. He notes that some steps may be omitted. ;Foundation Work :Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. ;Approach :The victim is contacted. ;Build-up :The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. ;Pay-off or Convincer :The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a con, the victim is given fake s. ;The Hurrah :A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. ;The In-and-In :A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a " " step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man. Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as , , , , , , , , , and . As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick. Researchers Huang and Orbach argue: Accomplices, also known as s, help manipulate the mark into accepting the 's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. References Category:Psychology